THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 28, 1994 TAG: 9407280523
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Marc Tibbs
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Why don't blacks in America stop their whining about slavery, discrimination and racism and buy into the American dream like everyone else?
Lots of nonblacks ask themselves that question. The answer isn't simple, but the interest in Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, who will speak Saturday at Scope, might offer a little insight.
To some, Farrakhan's speech, undoubtedly, will be brimming with hope, candor and courage. To others, the minister's very presence evokes bigotry, division and hate.
Tall order for one guy.
Farrakhan's popularity on college campuses and with inner-city blacks has caused no small stir among some people - whites, Jews and even many blacks. How, they say, can a man so vitriolic, so hateful, continue to fill auditoriums around the country?
Locally, the recently formed African-American/Jewish coalition was faced with that same question on the eve of Farrakhan's anti-violence rally. Some Jews in the group wanted to issue a statement rebuking Farrakhan as anti-Semitic. Repudiate this man, they said. It's the only decent thing to do.
But some of the organization's African-Americans resisted, and as of Wednesday the group had decided against issuing any public statement.
Farrakhan's popularity in the black community has little to do with his religious ideology. He draws an image of black Americans that too often is ignored in mainstream America.
It was Farrakhan's mentor, Malcolm X, who first began to teach that blacks should be proud of our heritage. This came at a time in history when it was insulting for one Negro person to call another Negro person ``black.'' At a time when the self-image of blacks was as negative as the view of those who found us socially, if not genetically, inferior.
The Nation of Islam helped change that outlook.
So when Farrakhan preaches black self-determination, black self-esteem, black self-help and black economic independence, he fills an aching void.
Nation of Islam ministers, for example, are patrolling housing projects - in some cases going where even the police fear to tread. The Nation also operates drug rehab clinics and works to prevent the spread of AIDS.
Still, Jews and others opposed to Farrakhan say those good works don't outweigh his anti-Semitism. Many of them use Farrakhan as a litmus test for a black-Jewish partnership.
But support for Farrakhan's religious ideology is not widespread in the black community. In fact, membership in his Nation of Islam is negligible. He attracts large audiences because he speaks to issues that other leaders won't address.
The dichotomy brings to mind two uniquely Southern stories that made headlines a few days ago.
One was about a branch of the Sons of Confederate Veterans that had staged a demonstration in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to keep the Confederate flag as a state symbol. That story reported the usual hype, epithets and bumper-sticker logic.
But a second story about a different chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans didn't get nearly as much attention. In Roanoke, a branch of the group volunteered to help clean up a neglected cemetery where black veterans are buried.
Which act best defines that group?
And which Farrakhan will you hear Saturday night? by CNB